Friday, October 16, 2015

Important Considerations For Designing a Brilliant Mobile UX Design

According to a recent survey conducted by comScore, “the mobile
Internet usage has skyrocketed in the last four years to overtake Desktop as
the most used digital platform”. Taking a cue from this statistic suggests
that: the online marketplace will be soon dominated by mobile devices. Thus,
leveraging mobile solutions can help you expand your reach to a larger audience
base.

You may be wondering by now, which mobile properties you should
develop to accomplish your goal? Considering the fact that consumers spend 90%
of time in mobile applications, you can expect to reach out to your target
audience by developing a mobile app. In fact, many businesses and online
marketers have already created an app, and their focus lies in expanding the
presence of their app.

However, there is one big issue that many app creators seem to
neglect when designing an app. The problem is that in a hurry to make the app
available for public use, designers overlook paying attention to good UX
practices. As a result, such app creators end up getting unfavorable results
despite of the efforts they have put into building a great app model.

But, remember that UX (user experience) design is the key to
creating a successful app. And so, it is very important that you're making
every possible effort to create an excellent mobile UX design – since the
success of the app depends on it. After all, you're building an app to be used
by your audience, and they might not use your product again if they don't like
what you have to offer.

To help you deliver a better and amazing experience to your mobile
users, let's take a look at some of the key considerations to take into account
when designing an app:

Focus on Clarity

While you need to display a prominent navigation menu at the top
of your desktop application, the same can't be said for the mobile apps.
Besides, you should avoid using multi-level menus with sub-menus. This is
because displaying a lot of information in the form of menu in your mobile
application will eats up plenty of screen space, which can ruin your design
owing to limited screen space, and can jeopardize the clarity of the
application.

Put it simply, users won't be able to use the app properly while
on the move, if the majority of your app screen is covered by menu items. For
instance, in case you've created an e-commerce app, then make sure that it
renders a smooth navigation experience for users when checking out, as it will
reduce the chances of cart abandonment.

Suggestion: You can resolve the
above discussed issues, by designing the navigation using a concept that users
are already familiar with, such as using an “icon” on your mobile screen that
expands and contracts when it is being clicked by some user.

Besides, try avoiding the use of multi-level menus and focus on
displaying the important message you want to convey to your users. In order to
convey your message clearly to your app users, make sure that the “copy matches
your visual design”.

For example: TRUSTe mobile privacy app provides users with a clear
to understand framework that presents the correct view of privacy implications
to users.

Create an Excellent Onboarding Design

Of course, people using your app for the first time might face
difficulty in understanding where they should begin to use your app. Needless
to say that users won't take much time to exit from your app, if they are
unable to understand its use. Thankfully, onboarding screens (also called as
walkthroughs) can help guide your users the accurate way to use your mobile
app.

However, there have been a lot of discussion regarding how worthy
onboarding screens prove in a mobile application. Max Rudberg provides a strong
argument against the use of onboarding, according to which, if an app really
requires a walkthrough, then it means it is faulty and lacks user-friendliness
and simplicity. While the logic is somewhat correct, but it's not enough to
come to a proper conclusion. Moreover, considering that most of the apps are
unique and people today don't have the patience to understand all the
technicalities of an app, providing them an onboarding flow will prove quite
useful for the users.

Suggestion: Keep in mind that some
people don't like to be taught. And so, it is important that your onboarding
design must be simple and should excite (and encourage) users to go through
what it says. Avoid adding too much written material, as it can frustrate
users. Rather, focus on explaining the basic functionalities of your app with
visual notes.

For example: The Evernote Food app features an excellent
onboarding design that tells users what they'll gain from the app.

Keep Your Forms Short and Precise

This is the most obvious yet overlooked aspect of an application.
Not to mention, you might not enjoy a good typing experience on small touch
screen displays. But, having a form with too many fields can put off your
users, as typing using virtual keyboard can be strenuous and challenging for
the users. Therefore, it is important that the forms added in your app must be
simple and small.

Even if you need to use a long form, you can keep the less
relevant fields pre-filled with defaults. Also, you can make use of visual
calendars rather than making an app user type the date.

Suggestion: In case your forms are
large in size and exceeds a single screen, it is recommended that you must show
your users a progress bar to tell them where they exactly are (when in the
middle of filling a form). Most importantly, let them know how close they're to
completing the form.

For example: The Habitat for Humanity Mobile app contact form
contains some auto-filled fields by default and only asks users to fill in the
most relevant details.

Final Words

As mobile platforms and technologies are becoming more mature, it
becomes needful for designers to create mobile apps that renders good UX (user
experience) to stand apart from the competition. But, do keep in mind to
develop an app that meets your target audience needs. For this, it's important
to identify who your users are. Once you've identified the users, consider the
above discussed considerations to deliver an enhanced user experience. After
all, your app can only succeed if it is able to provide a good and satisfying
experience to users.

Author Bio: Arya Stark is a mobile
app developer working for an Offshore Enterprise Mobile App Development Company, Xicom which offers a quality enterprise mobility
services. So if you are looking to avail the best mobility services, you can
get in touch with her.

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